By Adesina Soyooye

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, His Lordship, Mathew Kukah, has alleged a mass looting of the national treasury.

According to Kukah, the looting is being perpetrated by a privileged few.

The Bishop spoke in Kaduna  at a wake keep service in honour of the late Archbishop of the Kaduna Archdiocese, His Grace, Peter Jatau.

Said Bishop Kukah: “We sit at home stealing the Nation’s resources, but we seek repentance in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem in the guise of lesser or higher pilgrimages.

“We make money by abandoning projects duly paid for by Government which have adopted contractocracy as a Government mechanism.

“We are allowing others to use our money to develop their infrastructure. Our elites all assembled in Dubai for Christmas and also to welcome the New Year.

“As virtue recedes into sunset in our country, there is an urgent need for us to pause and take stock of what is required to save our country.”

Taking a direct swipe at Government, the Bishop said: “The duty and responsibility of Government is the security and welfare of its people. The Priest is a watchman, one whose duty is to watch over the city, and raise his voice whenever he cites danger.

“Our duty, as Nigerians, is to reject the notion of corrupt Governments that somehow, the Lord has not provided for  every society.

“When they call for us to tighten our belts because there is recession, that oil prices have fallen, that there are problems with balance of payments, and so on, the Priest at the duty post must say what he can see, namely, that when those who preside over the affairs issue a bad cheque, it must be resisted, that when they pretend that the economy faces bankruptcy, or that there are insufficient funds, we must reject those and insist on the equitable use of the resources for the common good for all.

“Our Nation has become one huge waste land, huge debris of the deceit, lies, treachery, double dealing, and duplicity.”

By Adesina Soyooye

For those who think the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, His Lordship, Mathew Kukah, is desirous for a Government/Political appointment, he has a story to tell.

Kukah, cerebral, and unarguably, the conscience of the Nation, has come under attack from both the Federal Government and the Muslim Community, over  his Christmas message of December 25, 2020.

In the message which received critical acclaim, Bishop Kukah had accused President Muhammadu Buhari of nepotism, and  added that if another person, not a Muslim from the North, had done a fraction of what Buhari has done, he would have been overthrown in a coup.

A couple of Government officials had descended on Kukah, calling him a politician in a Casock, and giving the impression that he was angling for a government job.

Some Muslim associations also hold the same opinion, insisting that Kukah’s message was a direct attack  on the Islamic religion.

Kukah had since dismissed such positions as mischief.

But saying the Homily at the wake keep service in honour of Archbishop  Peter Jatau, the late Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Archdiocese, Kukah revealed that he turned down a big political appointment offered to him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, during Obasanjo’s Presidency. Archbishop Jatau, he said, was aware of it, and encouraged Kukah to take-up the job so as to influence policies from inside. But the Bishop turned  it down.

Kukah: “After I finished serving in Oputa Panel, President Obasajo offered me an appointment that was quite powerful. I told the President that first, as a Priest, I had no need to serve in Government directly  under any President.

“When I tabled this before my Archbishop, he told me that on the contrary, I should go ahead and take the job. He argued that it could make me influence policy directly.

“He asked me to think it over, but I told him my mind was already made up.

“I called to tell the President that I was not available for the job. When I gave my Archbishop my reasons, he accepted, and the matter died there.”

Kukah did not, however, reveal what job/position it was that Obasanjo offered him.